Union set to vote on third Remington contract proposal

Thursday

Oct 25, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 25, 2007 at 10:02 AM

Negotiators from the United Mine Workers of America Local 717, the union representing employees at the Remington Arms Company plant in Ilion, have reached a third tentative agreement with representatives from the company.

Eric Monnat

Negotiators from the United Mine Workers of America Local 717, the union representing employees at the Remington Arms Company plant in Ilion, have reached a third tentative agreement with representatives from the company.

After an all-day negotiation session on Tuesday, UMWA District 2 Vice President Edward Yankovich Jr., Local 717's chief negotiator, gave the union members a presentation on the latest contract proposal Wednesday.

“There have been gains made in this agreement from the last one,” said Yankovich, although he would not go into specifics.

Local Union President Stuart Kennedy said the informational sessions were held to go over the changes in the third agreement, which include different language relating to medical insurance, wages and subcontracting.

Kennedy said the latest agreement includes higher medical insurance premiums, which will be offset by a different pay increase schedule, which will help make up the difference.

“There will be higher increments in the beginning,” said Kennedy. “(Remington) has dug its heels in with the subcontracting.”

Plant Manager Joe Gross did not provide any updates on the contract but confirmed the proposed contract will be voted on tomorrow.

Employees can vote on the proposed contract from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday.

“Union membership will vote on Friday in accordance with the democratic process laid out by the (UMWA) whether this collective bargaining agreement is acceptable for the future,” said Yankovich.

Yankovich gave two separate presentations Wednesday, one at 1 p.m. and another at 4 p.m., to make sure all employees had a chance to learn about the proposed contract before the vote, no matter what shift they work.

Local 717 represents all non-management employees at the plant, which currently has around 640 employees, according to Yankovich.

The employees are still working under the terms of the previous contract, which expired Sept. 16, while the current negotiations continue.

The first proposed contract was voted down by union members on Sept. 14. and the second was voted down on Oct. 9.

The two sides have been negotiating contract proposals since late summer.

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